2025 is almost done and it leaves lots of memories, lessons learnt and the sour and sweet taste given by the EPSO Competitions. Let us begin with that, with the fact that you can pass EPSO competitions and with our help, chances increase dramatically ;-). And beyond that, there some other issues we want to address in this summary of the year. Let’s begin! [Versión en español aquí]
We know it took long, many competitions were ongoing since 2023 and 2024, but at the end, the year 2025 has proven to be fruitful and to pay off your efforts, and we are very happy to have helped you to do so. When we started, we helped a few candidates and we could count their numbers with our hands (we still remember how 5 out of our 5 candidates passed the auditors competition (EPSO/AD/372/19)). Today, at the end of 2025, if we count only the competitions Transport EPSO/AD/410/23, Crisis & Migration EPSO/AD/403/23, Economist EPSO/AD/402/23, Assistants EPSO/AST/156/24, and Internal Competitions of the European Commission (for AD5, AD6, AST and AST/SC), we have helped more than 200 of you to pass competitions and put their names in the reserve list (and more than 300 if we count all competitions).
Fun facts? The number includes some candidates who have passed 2 or 3 competitions. In the transport competition, out of nearly 4000 candidates, only 2.5% studied with us but, at the end, among the laureates in the reserve list, 15% had participated in our trainings. Or in Assistants 156/24 competition, where 60% of our candidates joined the reserve lists. In the internal competitions, we have helped 1 out of 6 candidates who have passed. And while we write these lines, we wait for the final numbers in the Scientific research administrators (AD 7) EPSO/AD/413/24 competition, where our candidates aced the Field Related Short Test Questionaire (FRSTQ). 2026 will begin with the right foot.
So, yes, for us each candidate is unique and his or her story, background and skills deserve attention, that’s why we can bring numbers (we know the names too but GDPR rules apply ;-)) and also commit in the long term with our candidates. In 2026, we’ll keep working with you so your effort pays off and you become officers of the European Institutions. Are we the best trainers? Don’t ask us, ask our candidates, they are our best ambassadors and those who can give you first-hand advice.
Our candidates celebrating their success
Will 2026 be the year of AD5 graduates (a.k.a Generalists AD5)?
We know, it was 2023 when AD5 graduates (popularly known as Generalists because it only requires a university degree to apply, no experience or specialisation is needed) was announced by EPSO after a break of 4 years (since the 2019 Generalists competition). Since then, tests have been conducted in two platforms (Prometric, Testwe) with a bunch of technical problems and challenges, leaving many candidates dreaming to go back to physical exams.
Now, we are in 2025 (almost 2026), and EPSO has announced the publication of the notice of competition for Generalists for mid-February and another platform is coming (TAO). It only remains to keep our fingers crossed and wish good luck to see it working well. At this moment, we remain optimistic it will be so but only time will tell.
What are the lessons learnt from the competitions?
We have already integrated the latest lessons learnt into our methodology. For you right now, three key points:
Pay attention to the application procedure. The new portal for candidates has made things easier but you still have to keep alert. Before submitting your application, you can edit as much as you want but, once done, check always it has been properly confirmed and submitted, don’t leave it open. Also pay attention to the information you provide (e.g. make sure you explain your work experience well! (our latest example)), as EPSO has tightened the eligibility criteria and checks them thoroughly.
Overconfidence kills. We know the MCQ in the field is usually the key part as it’s score counts and it’s the single field related test BUT it’s important you pass the Reasoning and the Written parts too. Even if you only need to reach a passing threshold (5 out of 10 for instance) it doesn’t mean you don’t have to prepare it carefully. We need to keep a balance in our preparation for the different tests.
Never surrender. We know you have busy lives, it’s difficult to find time to study however, remember what we always say: It’s quality time and not quantity what you need to prepare, a few good hours can do miracles for passing a competition (we have seen it in our candidates), even if think that you began late (exception – starting the night before the exam doesn’t work). Also, until the end, when you get the letter with the results, you still have a chance if you were considered by EPSO as NOT eligible. In several competitions, the eligibility check was the part where we lost most candidates, not the exams. Of course, we have to be honest and check if we match in the eligibility criteria and if so, we can help you to appeal as we did with several candidates, adding their names to the reserve list.
What trainings do you recomend to me for 2026?
As said before, we have learnt our lessons and during the year, we have improved our formulas and methodology to be more effective in assisting you for the competitions and keep the good results as high as 2025, if not higher. So among other trainings (all of them available here) we have:
For specialists
Building and project management study group, you are still in time to join this one! Although it started in November, all sessions so far have been recorded and we have added an extra session in January plus the pre-exam analysis. Also you have plenty of tests available to practice (MCQ, Reasoning, Written test).
Data Management and Data Intelligence, if you have registered for the EPSO/AD/426/25 (AD7) competition, you will certainly be interested in our study group.
Graduates AD5 / Generalists
Reasoning tests (self study training)– perfect for all competitions. Do you need some help with the verbal reasoning? or numerical? abstract reasoning is not your cup of tea? No problem, this training will help you. It includes the theory for each type of tests, together with dozens of exercises for practice, all in EPSO style and with a certain level of difficulty to guarantee they day of the exam there are no surprises.
EUFTE – Written test for EPSO competitions (self study training) – Introduction and theory video providing insights and strategies to address the written test. With 5 YSE-original essay exercises for practice with a dedicated analysis and examples on how to tackle them. (Explanation are in English, reference texts for the exercises available in the 24 official languages) and a dedicated workshop to analyse the text proposed by EPSO for 2025 AD6 Graduates competition exam (live online).
MCQ test on EU knowledge (self-study online training in English) – this is to prepare for the MCQ test on EU knowledge in the EPSO AD5 Generalist competition 2026. The course consists of + 1200 questions for the MCQ test on knowledge on the EU and its institutions (Each MCQ question contains feedback), Explanatory videos (hours of content) on each EU political priority, YSE Study Guides on knowledge on the EU and its institutions, YSE-compilation of study materials. Continuousupdate with the latest developments.
Digital skills – ready for the new test that EPSO will introduce? Introductory video and references for study, Over 200 MCQ questions (distributed in 5 online tests) each MCQ question contains feedback-further information. Video and materials all in English.
Study group for AD5 graduates – Are you interested in joining a study group for Reasoning + EU Knowledge + Digital + Written test (EUFTE)) with online Q&A sessions? Write to yasemoseuropeos@gmail.com to show your interest.
What about internal competitions?
In January, we will come back on this with pleasant news for all you. We will open a study group for European Commission competitions (AD7, AD6 and AD5 and AST), stay tuned and follow us on our Telegram and WhatsApp channels.
If you are interested in the study group for internal Council competitions, please contact us at yasemoseuropeos@gmail.com
Remember, all these trainings are designed to help you to work/study/practice. They don’t do miracles and do things by themselves, they also need your effort to give results
Some video-examples of our analysis and free materials for competitions
If you are a YSE regular, you know this, otherwise, if you missed them , now it’s your opportunity to catch up with our webinar from 2025
New ASK ME ANYTHING sessions. After the success of the 1st edition, in January we’ll organise a new one, stay tuned.
Updated free resources space in our new blog. Yes, we are moving to our new web yasemoseuropeos.eu and we’ll say goodbye to this one (still will be accessible for the first half of 2026).
Bring new faces to the YSE team and revamp the Whatsapp groups. Because we aim to do more for you, we bring reinforcements to be sure we deliver the extra mile you deserve.
Trainings, webinars and more about the new competitions announced by EPSO (current announcements on the picture).
Conclusion
Big thanks from the whole team for your trust and support. We are proud of all you and your effort. We are very happy to see your results and honored knowing we help you to get there. 2025 could be considered a transition year, but things started to move and it ends as a successful one with the new hope of having back the AD5 graduates competition back as well as many others. For 2026, we look forward to keeping helping you in your dreams and efforts to work in the European Institutions.
[Spanish version here] In our aim and desire to accompany and inform you about the competitions and other contractual relationships that allow access to work in the European institutions, we have scheduled info sessions in the coming weeks with Q&A at the end so you can ask your doubts. On May 6th and 7th sessions will be in English, on May 8th and 9th we will discuss the same contents in Spanish.
Webinars in English will be:
CAST processes: Monday, May 6thfrom 18:30to 19:30 CET (Madrid, Brussels): we will discuss the contract agents selection processesCAST (Contract Agents Selection Tool).
Tests in the upcoming and ongoing competitions: Tuesday, May 7th from 18:30to 19:30 CET (Madrid, Brussels): we will discuss the different tests included in the upcoming and ongoing competitions (AD7 Transport field, AD7 Nuclear field, AD5 Generalists,…)
These webinars are free and with limited spots. It’s compulsory to fill in this form to participate (you will get the connection details before the webinar)
Webinar will be recorded and uploaded into our youtube channel, by participating in them you authorize to be recorded. All data will be handled according to EU regulations in force and with the single purpose of these webinars. (informative clause and our data protection policy)
Morevover, we’ll publish here new free exercises and materials from 2nd May.
Day 2 – Test MCQ (generalists, transport, crisis, migration and internal competition)
[English version here ] En nuestro afán e intención de acompañaros e informaros de las competiciones de oposición y de otras relaciones contractuales que posibilitan el acceso a trabajar en instituciones europeas, hemos programado sesiones informativas en las próximas días donde podrás preguntar todas tus dudas al final de la sesión. Los días 6 y 7 de Mayo serán en inglés y los días 8 y 9 de mayo trataremos los mismos contenidos en español.
Los seminarios online en español serán:
Los procesos CAST: Miércoles 8 de Mayode 18:30a 19:30 CET (Madrid, Bruselas): abordaremos los procesos de selección de agentes contractuales CAST (Contract Agents Selection Tool).
Las pruebas de las competiciones en curso y por venir: Jueves 9 de Mayode 18:30 a 19:30 CET (Madrid, Bruselas): trataremos las diferentes pruebas que se incluyen en las distintas competiciones, las que están por venir y las que se están desarrollando actualmente (AD7 ámbito Transportes, AD7 ámbito Nuclear, AD5 Generalistas,…)
Lo creais o no, los Reyes también visitan Ya Semos Europeos, aunque los nuestros son croquetamente un poco especiales (ahí os dejamos su foto) y en vez de oro, incienso y mirra, nos han dejado toda una colección de cositas de utilidad para esto de las oposiciones europeas.
CBT – computer based test o los psicotécnicos
El clásico de los clásicos. Recordad que en blog explicamos, por la patilla, de que va cada prueba : Razonamiento verbal, razonamiento numérico y razonamiento abstracto. ¿Cómo? la teoría muy bonita pero ¿y la práctica? bueno, en nuestro canal hemos subido nuevos ejercicios e iremos subiendo más durante el año, aquí tenéis de numérico 1y 2 , verbal o abstracto 1, 2 , 3, 4. Y durante la cuesta de enero habrá más sorpresas.
MCQ – Multiple choise questions o el examen de conocimientos
El nuevo modelo de oposiciones EPSO ha traido esta prueba de conocimientos y muchos nos preguntais por ellas, así que les hemos pedido a los Reyes que nos trajeran unos ejemplitos parra practicar
Si los Reyes te trajeron un vale para nuestras formaciones en esos MCQ, o no, simplemente te interesan para darle caña al asunto, aquí toda la info.
¿Y para los de juristas-linguistas? ¡claro! también nos han traido otro ejemplito de traducción de lengua 2 a lengua 1. Recordad que este post os puede inspirar para seguir preparando el tema.
¿Generalistas AD5? ¿alguien ha dicho algo? bueno, EPSO largo nos lo fía hasta que publique la convocatoria (más detalles aquí), mientras, aquí os dejamos una preguntillas para ir prácticando. Publicaremos más a lo largo del año, así que estád atentos.
Vale, los tests están muy bien pero ¿de donde saco ideas para estudiar? bueno, de esas tenemos unas cuantas y los Reyes nos las han recordado. Por ejemplo, en este video para propiedad intelectual , si lo vuestro Crisis y Migración, en este webinar lo vimos en detalle y en el caso de Transporte, otro webinar super útil(a partir del minuto 38).
¡GENERALISTAS! queremos generalistas como si fuera roscón de reyes (estaréis pensando). Bien, nada más sencillo, no hay que dejarse ni un euro en el tema, vamos con fuentes gratuitas y al alcance de todos (nuestros Reyes piensan en todas las croquetillas). En primer lugar Los tratados, y el ABC-EU law (en su edición de 2023, fresquito viene), con eso tendréis las bases de las instituciones y sus politicas. Si queréis adrentaros un poco más, os recomendamos que mireis las Fichas del Parlamento Europeo y los materiales publicados por los departamentos de Comunicación de la Comisión (factsheets, gráficos, resumenes) que permiten ir conociendo mejor en que consisten y que se está haciendo en cada una de las 6 prioridades políticas, con eso tendreis que ir construyendo un mapa mental (tomando notas y haciendo esquemas) de todo lo qhe hay ya que no hay libro que pueda resumir todo.
Case study o caso práctico
Pues si, de esto publicamos en su día un post. Ahora ha cambiado un pelín, en vez de 90 minutos y todo el mismo día, tendreis acceso a los documentos antes (este es el examen de propiedad intelectual) unas 2 semanas, para ir preparando el documento. Luego el día del examen, en 45 min tendréis que resolver las preguntas que os pongan ¿fácil?
Así que desde YSE os deseamos un buen arranque de año y ¡mucho ánimo! este será vuestro año de las oposiciones europeas
2023 has started with striking news. In May the new competition model will start but until then EPSO is doing its best to finalise all the competitions still in motion. Are you a candidate in one of them? Then this post is for you. Are you a future candidate? Then this post (link) is the one you are looking for. Yes, believe it or not, this time EPSO has not hung the «closed for refurbishment» sign and keeps working.
Ok, but you are not here to chit chat about EPSO competitions in general but about yours, because you have received excellent news from EPSO and you have been invited to the Assessment Centre or you are waiting for it. Nevertheless, you still feel a bit lost and you are not sure what or when to expect in your competition, right? Keep reading, we’ll tell you what will happen with all the EPSO competitions in motion at this moment, with the latest information available. In this post, you will find the information by reference number order, just scroll down until you find the AD competitions of interest to you [AD competitions can be found here] :
AST and AST/SC competitions
EPSO/AST/150/21 ( AST3) Technicians in Audiovisual, Building and Laboratory.
EPSO/AST/151/22 – Assistants – ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware Assistants – Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing Assistants – Development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence Assistants – ICT security
EPSO/AST/152/22 Linguistic Assistants ET- HR-IT.NL-PL-PT
EPSO/AST/153/22 Head of administration (AST-4) in EU Delegations
EPSO/AST/154/22 Assistants – Financial management ; Assistants – Accounting and treasury ; Assistants – Public procurement ; Assistants – Graphic design and visual content production ; Assistants – Social and digital media ; Assistants – Webmaster.
EPSO/AST/155/22 Assistants in the field of operational security ; Assistants in the field of Technical security and Assistants in the field of occupational health and safety
WARNING – as we see too much drama around the competitions, we have made an extra effort to make all this a bit more palatable and funny. You can pass the competitions with a smile! (Still, note that the information is as accurate as EPSO competitions allow us to be).
What about my competition?
Let’s go competition by competition (from highest to lowest EPSO reference number). Please be aware that the following analysis is done based on the information published on the EPSO web-page and our experience as candidates (yes, once we were where you are now) and trainers.
1.-Technicians and support workers- Technicians( AST3) EPSO/AST/150/21 In 3 fields: Field 1: Audiovisual and conference technicians; Field 2: Building technicians; Field 3: Laboratory technicians.
Status : Do you remember our analysis laboratory technicians and for Audiovisual and Building? Yes, at that time we used to write more in Spanish but the audience has become more international and so did we. Ok, you remember that. We knew the number of applications (389 candidates for 92 spots in Audiovisual, 663 for 114 spots in building, 378 for 20 in Laboratory spots and 176 for 15 spots on laboratory support) then 265, 340 and 65 respectively (670 candidates in total) have been invited to the Assessment Centre that took place from mid-September until mid-December, i.e Winter was coming! Now winter is gone and still waiting for the results that should be released approximately as we write this post (fingers crossed, originally the results were foreseen to come out in February). Best of luck to our 50 candidates (croquetillas) who trusted us to prepare this competition.
AudiovisualBuildingLaboratory
About the Assessment Centre: First, they did the case study (last 4 July), after that two tests more were needed, which accounted for 130 out of the total of 170 points. The Situational competency based interview was worth 30 points and the booklet for the exam was published about a couple of weeks before the exams begin, stay alert! For the field-related interview, 100 points were at stake. The key factor was the structure of the information, no need to be an expert to talk about any topic but you need an expert to know what matters and how to explain it clearly and to the point. Remember you can join our Telegram information channel too where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition. Of course, If you think we can help you with our training, you can register for the next ones.
Status: Do you remember the analysis we did? The 4 different profiles collected a total of 1300 applications approximately (221-260-721-117 respectively) for a total of 205 spots (by profile 47-55-74-29). While the ratio of candidates to spots is favourable, this competition requires excellent technical skills. Also, the complexity of the applications is rather high, which means that EPSO needed more time to evaluate them. The good news is, as we write this post, that candidates got their result from the Talent Screener, hurra!!!! And if you are wondering when your Assessment Centre is going to take place, it should start in the second half of April. (If you are looking our analysis for AD- ICT competition – go here)
No mystery in ICT security, after eligibility some people complaint on the decision and they were re-introduce into the talent. Considering there are more invitations to the assessment than candidates left, was easy for EPSO to review their decision but they forgot to update the number too.
About the Assessment Centre: First, we’ll have the computer-based tests (CBT). We know, you thought you had escaped it… keep dreaming. Still, there is no need to get a high mark, only passing it is enough (like it is the case for CAST exams).
Easy one, just an overall of 20 points to pass it.
In addition to the CBT, you will have to pass the following tests: Case Study (40 points) and Situational Competence Based Interview(30 points). Between the two tests you can gather a total of 70 points, with the particularity that in total you need 35 out of 70 to pass, but no minimum marks per competence are required. Our advice is that you start to prepare the Case Study as soon as possible.
Anyway, although the more points we get in competences part the better, the key part is the field-related interview, where you will have to demonstrate your capacities in your field (not exactly your knowledge), and above all, your relevant experience for this position. In the field-related interview, up to 100 points are in stake with a minimum score of 60 points, the bar is high! Remember to visit this link when you are invited to the Assessment Centre. We can help you to prepare all the test or you can join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.
3.-EPSO/AST/152/22 Linguistic Assistants ET– HR–IT–NL–PL–PT
So far, all the dates and web are the same for the 6 languages, so we felt lazy and uploaded only one screenshot 🙂
Status : This is a competition that attracted many interested candidates and unfortunately offered few spots, about 4137 candidates for 76 final spots (a proportion in line with the old times of generalist AD5 competition). It began with the CBT (verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) with two language comprehension tests the last week of August and the first one of September. Then the candidates who obtained the pass mark in the reasoning tests and one of the highest overall marks in the language comprehension tests went through the eligibility check that took place throughout most of the Autumn. Right before Christmas, a few successful candidates (32 for Estonian, 43 for Croatian, 38 for Italian, 49 for Dutch, 59 for Polish and 48 for Portuguese) got their invitation to the Assessment Centre.
You need a high score in both language comprehension test!! 7 is not enough.
About the Assessment Centre: A single date for all profiles on the case study test (with 40 points) and the finalisation of a text was given (about the test check what we posted for the proofreaders text, it may be of help). In addition, they had to sit the General competency-based interview, where only 30 points are at stake (as the core of the marks was given in the case study and the finalisation of a text).
Status : The competition started after the 2022 summer break and most likely it will finish after the 2023 summer break, not bad for EPSO speed. At this moment, candidates already got their results of the CBT and have passed eligibility checks (Remember our webinar where we disclosed all the tricks for it) so they are facing the long wait to see who is invited to the Assessment Centre (120 of 487 will be invited)
Assessment : First, you will need to sit the Case Study and the Situational Competence Based Interview (SCBI). Between these two tests you can gather a total of 70 points, with the particularity that you need a combined overall 35/70 to pass but no minimum marks per competence. It means that you should avoid doing a bad Case Study or SCBI in general, but you have some margin to fail some of the specific questions within each test.
Not as hard as it seems
The more points we get in the competences part, the better (we can help with that). Still, the key part is the field-related test, where you will have to demonstrate your knowledge, and above all, your relevant experience for this position. To do so, you will have the Interview in the Field (also structured but with a clear focus on your work experience), a test where you can get up to 100 points (we can help with that too). Last but not least, don’t miss the opportunity to join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.
Status:Complicated (do you remember that one on FB?). The first of the big competitions to organise the CBT fully online (no possibility of taking the exam in a Prometric centre) gave as result a controversial outcome. Many candidates had issues with the procedure and/or the platform. Several even have complaint to the Ombudsman (and the European Court?) but considering the length of the procedure, EPSO could continue the competition and finalize it before the Court have time to fail against EPSO. Then it can be repeated among the candidates who didn’t make it (i.e Pachitis case or as many other failed (in Court competitions). So, let’s focus on the competition itself for the moment and the fact candidates .
If you want to take a pause to check youtube, you can revisit our webinar on this competition, otherwise, we can share with you our forecast on the threshold marks. Based on very conservative assumptions (all candidates are eligible, only 25% of the candidates failed the CBT and final mars are equally distributed), we see for field 1 if you have 13 or above your chances are quite high of passing to the assessment, 12 points if you are in field 2. For fields 3,4,6 looks it will be 17 in verbal reasoning the mark , for field 6, considering the big number of candidates, it will 18 our forecast. In any case, we stick to our advice to wait until you are confirmed for the assessment, at that moment give your 100% to prepare it.
Now talking about the other tests, the competition turns into a classic. You will have to face the following tests: Case Study and Situational Competency-Based Interview. Here you have 7 competences to be assessed (in AD competitions there are eight). Between the two tests you can gather a total of 70 points, with the particularity that you need an overall 35/70 to pass, but no minimum marks per competence. Don’t get over confident, do fine on these two and you will be fine for this part although the more points we get the better (we can help with that).
Some practice, some effort and a some guidance and it will be done
Anyway, the key part is the field-related test where you will have to demonstrate your know how on the field, explaining, in detail, your relevant experience for this position. The Interview in the Field is also somehow structured but as it has a clear focus on your work experience, is much more interesting and rewarding, you can get up to 100 points in that test (we can help on that too), approx. 60% of all the available points. Remember you can also join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.
Status: The CBT took place in January this year, hopefully with fewer issues, and had no minimum passing mark. The key element is that only those candidates who obtain one of the highest scores in the whole test will have their application checked for eligibility. Applications will be checked until they positively check 3 candidates per position, who will be invited to the Assessment Centre. Considering that they need 300 candidates for the Assessment Centre, from an initial amount of almost 2400 (1587 , 244, 558 respectively for 44; 24; 33 places offered in the competition), it will take time and we don’t see the Assessment Centre happening before May this year.
Assessment Centre: Now talking about the other tests, the competition turns into a classic. You will have to face the following tests: Case Study and Situational Competency-Based Interview. Here you have 7 competences to be assessed (in AD competitions there are eight). Between the two tests you can gather a total of 70 points, with the particularity that you need an overall 35/70 to pass, but no minimum marks per competence. Don’t get over confident, do fine on these two and you will be ok for this part, although the more points we get the better (we can help with that).
Some practice, some effort and a some guidance and it will be done
Anyway, the key part is the field-related interview where you will have to show your knowledge on the field, explaining, in detail, your relevant experience for this position. The Interview in the Field is also somehow structured but as it has a clear focus on your work experience, is much more interesting and rewarding, you can get up to 100 points in that test (we can help on that too), approx. 60% of all the available points. And don’t miss the opportunity to join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.
All the situations under which EPSO will write you in your profile, not by email, although sometimes we may get a warning message.
Many of you ask about when EPSO will tell you that you have made it to the next phase, or have been invited to the Assessment Centre, or…. you read/heard rumors about the development of the competitions somewhere. Better to isolate yourself from that noise and focus on the real messages. EPSO commits itself (it’s in Annex II of the notice of competition) to communicate with you after the Talent Screeners have been evaluated to inform you on the results and to invite you to the Assessment Centre. In the meantime, it can take weeks or months to receive any informationor being notified that we have passed to the next phase of the competition, so keep calm. If you are feeling desperate for the lack of news, you can always contact EPSO too, as candidates you are entitled to do so but be careful, replies can be a bit cryptic or copy/paste from the notice.
What can I expect of this job? How much will my salary be?
Table of the amounts of basic monthly salaries for each grade and step in function groups AD and AST referred to in Article 66 of the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022
Both are typical questions of the candidates, therefore we invite you to check Annex I and Annex II from the notice of competition. As you can see from the images above, go to Annex I of the notice to find all the details of your expected tasks to be performed once you are an administrator in the area of ICT (The Commission counts on you!!!). And last but not least, above you find the table with the gross salaries for each grade (the net amount is usually similar to the gross one, and it can be higher depending if you have family dependent on you and other conditions).
Can you help me?
Let share some useful links for this competition and any other.
2023 has started with striking news. In May the new competition model will start but until then EPSO is doing its best to finalise all the competitions still in motion. Are you a candidate in one of them? Then this post is for you. Are you a future candidate? Then this post (link) is the one you are looking for. Yes, believe it or not, this time EPSO has not hung the «closed for refurbishment» sign and keeps working.
Ok, but you are not here to chit chat about EPSO competitions in general but about yours, because you have received excellent news from EPSO and you have been invited to the Assessment Centre, or because you are waiting for those news. Nevertheless, you still feel a bit lost and you are not sure what or when to expect in your competition, right? Keep reading, we’ll tell you what will happen with all the EPSO competitions in motion at this moment, with the latest information available. In this post, you will find the information by reference number order, just scroll down until you find the AD competitions of interest to you [AST competitions can be found here] :
AD-Administrators competitions
EPSO/AD/398/22 –Administrators -ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware ; Administrators – Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing ; Administrators – IT and data governance, programme/portfolio and project management, project management office (PMO), business and enterprise architecture Administrators – ICT security
EPSO/AD/399/22 – Administrators in the field of Audit
EPSO/AD/400/22 -Administrators and experts in the field of space; Administrators and experts in the field of defence industry
EPSO/AD/401/22 – Administrators in the field of energy : Administrators in the field of climate and Administrators in the field of environment.
WARNING – as we see too much drama around the competitions, we have made an extra effort to make all this a bit more palatable and funny. You can pass the competitions with a smile! (Still, note that the information is as accurate as EPSO competitions allow us to be).
What about my competition?
Let’s go competition by competition (from highest to lowest EPSO reference number). Please be aware that the following analysis is done based on the information published on the EPSO web-page and our experience as candidates (yes, once we were where you are now) and trainers.
Status: Do you remember the analysis we did on this competition? Still fresh despite being from February last year. The 5 different profiles collected a total of 2620 applications (respectively 404-186-769 -986 -375) for a total of 350 spots (by profile 71-49-70-73-87). While the ratio of candidates to spots is favorable, this competition requires excellent technical skills. Also, the complexity of the applications is rather high, which means that EPSO will need more time to evaluate them. Most likely, the Eligibility Check will be conducted shortly, but then they will need to evaluate the Talent Screener. Expect to hear news about the Assessment Centre by end of Autumn 2022.
So, this is the status of the competition. As expected, some fields didn’t need (or almost) a passing mark for the talent
About the Assessment Centre: First, it’s expected it will begin after Easter (6-10 April), pay attention to any warning/email on your EPSO account. If EPSO proceeds as usual, we’ll have the computer-based tests (CBT) first. We know, you thought you had escaped it… keep dreaming. Still, there is no need to get a high mark, only passing it is enough (like it is the case for CAST exams).
Easy one, just an overall of 20 points to pass it.
In addition, you will have to pass the following tests at the Assessment Centre: Case Study and Situational Competence Based Interview (SCBI). Between the two tests you can gather a total of 80 points, with the particularity that you need and overall 40/80 to pass, but not minimum marks per competence. Don’t forget the SCBI booklet is published 2 weeks in advance of the first candidate having his/her exam. Anyway, although the more points we get in competences part the better, the key part is the Interview in the Field where you will have to demonstrate your capacities on the area of it (not exactly the same as your knowledge), and above all, your relevant experience for this position. In the Interview in the Field, you can get up to 100 points.
Most likely, you’ll take the case study first and the interviews will go by blocks, with all the candidates in one field having their SCBI and then all again having the field related. Remember to visit this link when you are invited to the Assessment Centre. We can help you to prepare all the test or you can join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.
As you can see, the Talent was the big wall for the candidates, only 1 out 7 made it.
Status and about the Assessment Centre: Not bad, at this stage is the most advanced ongoing competition. After more or less one year (application period closed 12th April 2022), they are having their Assessment Centre online. As we speak, field-related interviews are taking place and they already did the Situational Based Interview and the Competence based interview for general competences. Good luck to all our candidates who have trusted us to prepare these test.
Status : yes , we know, this competition is rocket science but its speed is closer to paper airplanes. Still, remember that for science and defence patience is key (check our webinar-analysis if you want to recapitulate). EPSO announced the results of the eligibility checks right before Christmas (what a present!) but as you can see, between 1 out of 2 or 3 made it. Those were the bad news, the good ones being that the threshold to pass the Talent Screener is expected to be low. As you can see on our table below, places for the Assessment Centre are not far from the number of candidates.
As we speak, the evaluation of the Talent Screener is taking place and we expect the results will come out soon (any time as we write this post) have been published the day after we released this post so now we have 97, 48, 108, 54 respectively (see table below) candidates who have passed the Talent phase, meaning their Assessment Centrewill take place (most likely) between late April and June.
About the Assessment Centre: First we’ll have the CBT (computer-based test) as usual in a specialist competition. Still you don’t need much to pass it (like an ordinary CAST exam) and there is no need of having a high mark, only passing it is enough.
No news from this EPSO-front, our old CBT as usual.
Then the competition turns into a classic. In front of you, you have two of the most classic test you may face: Oral presentation (a typical test in EU-law or generalist AD5) and Situational Competence Based Interview (remember, the booklet for this test is published 2 weeks in advance of the first candidate taking the exam). Between the two tests you can gather a total of 80 points, with the particularity that you need and overall 40/80 to pass but not minimum marks per competence. The more points we get in competences part, the better (we can help with that).
Still, the key part are the field-related tests, where you will have to demonstrate your knowledge, and above all, your relevant experience for this position. To do so, you will have the Interview in the Field (with clear focus on your work experience) and the field-related written test (where you will have to demonstrate your know-how, and all the information/knowledge you need is provided as part of the documents related to the assignment). The pass mark in each of these two tests is 25 out of 50 (we can help with that too).
Status: This competition has the honor of being the last AD competition of the old EPSO model but it doesn’t mean it will move faster than the competitions that preceded it. You also need to consider the big amount of candidates in this competition, as we speak we know there are 1762; 917; 1853 candidates respectively in the 3 fields, when the finals spots are 54 for Energy, 49 for Climate and 52 for Environment. We assume you have diligently followed our first webinar-analysis and the second webinar for some hints so hopefully you will be among the 450 (+/-) candidates invited to the Assessment Centre.
Considering that they are still in eligibility phase and EPSO is fully involved in the new model, there is a likely scenario where the Assessment Centreof this competition will take place in Autumn this year. Fingers crossed.
About the Assessment Centre: First we’ll have the CBT (computer-based test), not so terrible as it looks, as there is no need of having a high mark, only passing it is enough.
Pay attention, you still need to pass this one, although not a big deal
Now talking about the other tests, the competition turns into a classic. You will have to face the following tests: Case Study and Situational Competency-Based Interview. Here you have 8 competences to be assessed. Between the two tests you can gather a total of 80 points, with the particularity that you need an overall 40/80 to pass, but no minimum marks per competence. Don’t get over confident, do fine on these two and you will be fine for this part, although the more points we get the better (we can help with that).
Some practice, some effort and a some guidance and it will be done 😉
Anyway, the key part is the field-related test where you will have to demonstrate your know-how on the field, explaining, in detail your relevant experience for this position. The Interview in the Field is also somehow structured but as it has a clear focus on your work experience, it is much more interesting and rewarding, you can get up to 100 points in that test (we can help on that too), approx. 60% of all the available points are at the stake here.
All the situations under which EPSO will write you in your profile, not by email, although sometimes we may get a warning message.
Many of you ask about when EPSO will tell you that you have passed to the next phase, or have been invited to the Assessment Centre, or…. you read/heard rumors about the development of the competitions somewhere. Better to isolate yourself from that noise and focus on the real messages. EPSO commits itself (it’s in Annex II of the notice of competition) to communicate with you after the Talent Screeners have been evaluated to inform you on the results and to invite you to the Assessment Centre. In the meantime, it can take weeks or months to receive any informationor being notified that we have passed to the next phase of the competition, so keep calm. If you are feeling desperate for the lack of news, you can always contact EPSO too, as candidates you are entitled to do so but be careful, replies can be a bit cryptic or a copy/paste from the notice.
What can I expect of this job? How much will my salary be?
Table of the amounts of basic monthly salaries for each grade and step in function groups AD and AST referred to in Article 66 of the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022
Both are typical questions of the candidates, therefore we invite you to check Annex I and Annex II from the notice of competition. As you can see from the images above, go to Annex I of the notice to find all the details of your expected tasks to be performed once you are an administrator (the Commission counts on you!!!). And last but not least, let us remind you an AD7 (step 2) will join the institutions with a net salary well above 6.000 € and this can be higher depending if you have family dependent on you and other conditions.
Can you help me?
Let share some useful links for this competition and any other.
We know that among our readers there are candidates of the competition of proofreaders/language editors – Greek,Spanish, Estonian, Gaelic, Italian, Portuguese(EPSO/AST/148/21) and Linguistic Assistants Estonian – Croatian(HR) – Italian – Dutch(NL) – Polish – Portuguese (EPSO/AST/152/22) EPSO/AST/152/22. Some of you even asked for some help to prepare the specific tests that you will have to face in these competitions. Let’s bring our expertise and share with you some tips and trick to prepare this.
After the summer break, the Assessment Centre will be rolling full steam, but be careful!!! You will face 2 different computer-based tests, one of them being the usual CBT (verbal, numerical, abstract reasoning), and the other one a Proofreading and correcting test. As there are two tests, there are two booking dates:
for the CBT you have to book the date between 09-13 September and take the exam 17-18 October (at home or in a Prometric/EPSO facility);
for the Proofreading and correcting test you have to book between 29 September-5 October and take the exam 31 October – 4 November (only in a Prometric/EPSO facility).
Don’t forget to read carefully all the indications you receive from EPSO when doing the bookings (believe it or not, they contain a lot information). Check the starting dates for the rest of the tests, as for each language they begin on a different day between mid September and mid October and the interview phase will last 1 month. If you want to know more about the Assessment Centre as a whole, read our previous post.
Fresh from the notice
How can I prepare the Proofreading and correcting test test?
Our recommendation would be to practice. Try practicing with the Reform of the European Ombudsman’s Statute, you can divide it into two parts and you have it in several languages (Spanish; French; Italian; German). Another example which is available in the 24 official languages are the Factsheets of the European Parliament as they cover a wide list of subjects and allow you to practice with some legal & policy terms. This test just implies translation, so any document from the institutions officially translated to our language 2 can help us practice.
Of course, we can’t forget about the State of the Union 2021 (which is available in the 24 official languages), or any SOTEU speech from previous years (here for instance 2020 and 2018). Finally, you can check the documents about the Political priorities of the Commission or other similar documents, as well as the official journal with all its texts published in the 24 official languages. Overall, they want to be sure you know how to do the following:
proofreading electronic manuscripts in terms of typography and inputting authors’ corrections,
preparing and checking proofs for publication in various formats and media,
preparing manuscripts in electronic format or on paper in terms of spelling, grammar and syntax, and checking texts for their coherence and uniformity,
checking compliance with stylistic conventions and rules, and the compliance of the texts with the Interinstitutional Style Guide adopted by all the European Union institutions,
checking the quality of work performed by outside contractors in the field,
preparing the Institution’s documents for publication and finalising texts in typographical terms,
checking texts translated into the language of the competition for consistency with the original language,
monitoring linguistic developments and changes and informing colleagues of them,
taking part in terminology work and in the quality control process for translations of documents,
various other types of language work, such as moderation of content of website pages.
Considering this, the practice with the documents previously listed is simple.
First step: copy the two texts to be reviewed in a Word document,
Second step: ask someone to introduce small changes of format, typos, etc. Proofreading will cover both the linguistic aspects (grammar, spelling and punctuation) and typography. If this person is another colleague in the same competition even better, you can prepare the documents for each other. Save it with and without track changes.
Third step: follow the same principle as indicated in the Notice of Competition. Take the text nº1 in language 1 and correct it while comparing it to the source text in Language 2. Then take text nº2 to make the proofreading without the comparison to the source text in Language 2. AND don’t forget to reason/justify your corrections. In total, you can’t use more than 2h 30 min to do this.
Fourth step: correct the texts by comparing them to the original text. Analyse the part where you have made mistakes and why.
Fifth step: go back to the first step and repeat
2.-EPSO/AST/152/22 Linguistic Assistants Estonian; Croatian(HR); Italian; Dutch(NL); Polish; Portuguese
The linguistic assistants competition is currently organizing the CBT (verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) with two language comprehension tests. In total, about 4137 candidates (for 76 final spots) will take this exam in the last week of August and the first one of September.
We all know the verbal, numerical and verbal reasoning tests, but what will the language comprehension tests look like? They will consist of 12 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), which are designed to assess your linguistic abilities in terms of vocabulary, grammar/syntax constructions and style. To see real examples, check EPSO web page.
So far, all the dates and web are the same for the 6 languages, so we felt lazy and uploaded only one screenshot 🙂
You need a high score in both language comprehension test!! 7 is not enough.
We need to excel in the part of the comprehension test, as only the files of the candidates who obtained the pass mark in the reasoning tests and one of the highest overall marks in the language comprehension tests will undergo the eligibility check. That is, the eligibility check will be performed in the descending order of candidates’ overall marks obtained in the language comprehension tests. The files will be checked until the number of candidates deemed eligible reaches three times the number of successful candidates sought for each language, i.e. 36 for Estonian, 42 for Croatian, 30 for Italian, 42 for Dutch, 36 for Polish and 42 for Portuguese. A proportion in line with the old times of generalist AD5 competition.
Once we make it to the Assessment Centre, we will be required to «finalise» a text… what does that mean?
About the finalisation of a text: This test is about correcting formatting mistakes in a translation. The source text in language 2 will be provided on screen. A translation of this text into language 1, provided as an editable text, contains mistakes in the language and the format in comparison to the source text. The candidate is asked to detect and correct these mistakes, in order to match the source text. The test lasts one hour. [EPSO dixit]. So to train for this, we propose the same strategy as we did above (check above for the source texts) and to follow these steps :
First step: copy a text (1000 words should do it) to be reviewed in a Word document,
Second step: ask someone to introduce small changes of format, typos, etc . If this person is colleague in the same competition even better, you can prepare documents for each other. Save the document with and without track changes.
Third step: follow the same principle as indicated in notice. Take the text in language 1 and correct it while comparing it to the source text in Language 2. In total, you can’t use more than 60 min to do this.
Fourth step: correct the text by comparing it to the original text and the track changes version. Analyse the part where you have done mistakes and why.
Yes, believe it or not, this time EPSO has not hung the «closed for holidays» sign and keeps working. Competition results are being published one week after another. On this, let us stop for a just a moment and say Congratulations to all of our more than 30 «croquetillas» (our candidates) who passed EU Law and Agriculture competitions. August is a lovely month to celebrate the success and recharge your energy to apply for Officer positions in the European Institutions back in September.
Summer trip to the Assess-ment centre
Ok, but you are not here to read about the success of others but about yours, because you have received excellent news from EPSO and you have been invited to the Assessment Centre. Still you feel a bit lost and you are not sure what you can expect in your competition, right? Keep reading, we’ll tell you what will happen with all the EPSO competitions that will have their Assessment Centre exams between 1st September – 31st December 2022 (and if you want to know how good we are with foreseeing the EPSO-future, check our previous post on the topic). Let’s try to answer to all of you with the latest information available. In this post, you will find the information by reference number order, just scroll down until you find the ones of interest to you :
EPSO/AD/397/21 Administrators in the field of maritime affairs and fisheries
EPSO/AD/398/22 –Administrators -ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware ; Administrators – Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing ; Administrators – IT and data governance, programme/portfolio and project management, project management office (PMO), business and enterprise architecture Administrators – ICT security
EPSO/AST/150/21 ( AST3) Technicians in Audiovisual, Building and Laboratory.
EPSO/AST/151/22 – Assistants – ICT infrastructures, cloud, networks and middleware Assistants – Digital workplace, office automation and mobile computing Assistants – Development/configuration, testing, operation and maintenance of IT applications and off-the-shelf solutions; Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence Assistants – ICT security
EPSO/AST/152/22 Linguistic Assistants ET- HR-IT.NL-PL-PT
Classic description on how candidates see themselves when they get an invitation to the Assessment Centre.
WARNING – as we see too much drama around the competitions, we have made an extra effort to make all this a bit more palatable and funny. You can pass the competitions with a smile! (Still, note that the information is as accurate as EPSO competitions allow us to be).
What about my competition?
Let’s go competition by competition (from highest to lowest EPSO reference number). Please be aware that the following analysis is done based on the information published on the EPSO web-page and our experience as candidates (yes, once we were where you are now) and trainers.
Believe it or not, this one is taking more time than external relations 2.5 years since it began!
Status: At the moment where we are writing this, a total of 70 candidates have made into the Assessment Centre (26 in Greek, 21 in French and 23 in Polish) after passing the Eligibility Check and the preliminary translation test (after 2 years, only!). An optimal number if we remember there are 45 spots (15,20 and 10 respectively), what makes a proportion of one spot per 1,5-2 candidates in each competition, not bad at all! So it’s expected all the candidates can be tested in just one month (one test per week). Remember that in the online Assessment Centre, you will do each test on a different day, not all the tests at the same time. However, don’t forget to check your invitation to the Assessment Centre for the full details (believe it or not, EPSO provides a lot of info in their communication to you – hint: click on the links of the letter!!!)
About the assessment: First, our old classic test the General competency-based interview in the company of another classic since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Situational Competency base interview (CBI). On top of that, you will have to sit the Field test interview. Careful!!! This is a particular one, in your competition the Field-related interview is aimed to assess your specialist knowledge and command of the language in the field of national law and European Union law. During the interview, you will also be asked to give an oral presentation.
Another aspect to remember in this competition is that your final mark will be composed of your results in the following tests: Translation into the competition language (from language 2 and language 3 – up to 120 points) + CBT (up to 40 points) + Translation review (up to 40 points) + Assessment competences (up to 80) and finally the field related interview (up to 20) , in total 300 points.
Yes! 2 year later, the assessment is here…and plenty of international crisis too. get ready!
Status: After a very long wait (check the analysis we did long time ago), candidates received their results of the Talent Screener. Kindly enough they did this before the summer so now it’s time enjoy the summer and the Assessment Centre all together. Who said you can’t practice an EPSO interview in the swimming pool? So the lucky 105 in AD7 and 165 in AD5 candidates remaining (+/- 3 candidates per 1 place) will have the opportunity to try this original method of training.
About the assessment: The trick here is the candidates will face a double written test, first the Case study (competences, not related to external relations) and then the written test in the field (yes, this one will be about competences for external relations, not knowledge). Be ready for an, at least, 5-hour exam (or even longer) between the two tests combined. The other tests you will need to take are and General competency-based interview; and the Field-related interview, which will be organised in different dates. Do you need help with the written tests? Or the interviews? Check the info about our next training sessions if you think we can help you (we don’t provide a swimming pool, but we give you all the EPSO stuff). Another way of staying tuned is to join our Telegram channel where we’ll alert you on more details.
Not the fastest competition but still taking place in 2022. Be careful , you got the CBT first!
Status: This one is moving a bit faster, it helps when you only have 40 candidates for 35 spots (yes, 35 spots) who have completed and submitted their application by the end of January 2022. Since then, the translation test have passed and now they are eagerly waiting to take the CBT in October to end the year with the Assessment Centre.
About the assessment: First, you will have to face the General competency-based interview together with the Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and the Field test interview. Careful with the last one!!! In your competition, the Field-related interview is aimed to assess your specialist knowledge and command of the language in the field of national law and European Union law. During the interview, you will be asked to give an oral presentation too.
Another aspect to remember in this competition is the marking. Your final mark will be composed of you results in Translation into the competition language (from language 2 and language 3 – up to 120 points) + CBT (up to 40 points) + Translation review (up to 40 points) + Assessment competences (up to 80) and finally the field related interview (up to 20) , in total 300 points.
If interested in our CBT training in English, write us to yasemoseuropeos@gmail.com, remember you can join our Telegram information channel too where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition. Of course, If you think we can help you with our training, you can register for the next ones. And yes, we also prepare the field-related interview, it’s all about the methodology 😉
Status: Do you remember the analysis we did? You should, it’s from the end of 2021, so not too long ago. This competition provides fresh evidence that EPSO competitions are sailing forward once the tsunami of the COVID has passed :). Initially, there were 913 candidates for 86 spots. After the Eligibility Check and the evaluation of the Talent Screener, only 260 candidates are left and even a lower number (as the CBT took place in June and not everyone passed it) got his/her invitation to the Assessment Centre. Now, starting on the 13th September (your new lucky day), with the case study, the competition-ship is arriving to its final ePsORT.
About the assessment: First you will face the Case study (competences, not related to fisheries) and then the interview, including the field related interview (yes, this one will be about competences in the domain of maritime affairs and fisheries, not knowledge) and the general competency-based interview. Do you need some help to row stronger in this competition? check the info about our next training sessions if you think we can help you (we have navigated these waters). And don’t worry, the bad jokes will be kept at bay during the sessions or we’ll throw ourselves overboard… oops!
Status: Do you remember the analysis we did? Still fresh from February this year. The 5 different profiles collected a total of 2620 applications (respectively 404-186-769 -986 -375) for a total of 350 spots (by profile 71-49-70-73-87). While the ratio of candidates to spots is favourable, this competition requires excellent technical skills. Also, the complexity of the applications is rather high, which means that EPSO will need more time to evaluate them. Most likely, the Eligibility Check will be conducted shortly, but then they will need to evaluate the Talent Screener. Expect to hear news about the Assessment Centre by end of Autumn 2022.
About the assessment: First, we’ll have the computer-based tests (CBT). We know, you thought you had escaped it… keep dreaming. Still, there is no need to get a high mark, only passing it is enough (like it is the case for CAST exams).
Easy one, just an overall of 20 points to pass it.
In addition, you will have to pass the following tests at the Assessment Centre: Case Study and Situational Competence Based Interview. Between the two tests you can gather a total of 80 points, with the particularity that you need and overall 40/80 to pass, but not minimum marks per competence. Anyway, although the more points we get in competences part the better, the key part is the field-related test where you will have to demonstrate your capacities on the area of it (not exactly your knowledge), and above all, your relevant experience for this position. To do so, you will have the Interview in the Field (also structured but with clear focus on your work experience) up to 100 points in that test. Remember to visit this link when you are invited to the assessment. We can help you to prepare all the test or you can join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.
BONUS TRACK.-Experts in technical support to Member States’ Structural Reforms EPSO/AD/391/21 – 1 and Experts in the Schengen acquis EPSO/AD/391/21 – 2 (only this)
You are seen right. The competition is still on, while for structural reforms it ended in July.
Status: As you remember, the candidates applying for the Structural Reforms competition were far more than expected and the CBT was called upfront. Results were out at end of October and candidates waited for the results of the Talent Screener. Finally, the results came out (more or less as expected) and 140 candidates for structural reforms (with 45 places) and 75 (with 25 places) for Schengen acquis have been invited.
About the assessment: We got a mix of items for the Summer, classic competence interviews : General competency-based interview (CBI), Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and then the Field test (interview and written test) despite the cuts in the assessment. For the moment, the written test in the field was held the 30th May. and the SCBI test is still in coming in September!
Status: It has been a while since candidates were informed that this competition was moving towards the Talent Screener evaluation and now their patience bore fruit. The initial number of candidates who applied were high, specially for some languages as we got 732 candidates for Greek, 871 Spanish, only 67 for Estoninan, the record for Italian with 992 and more regular number 241 for Portuguese. Of all of them, only 51, 54, 33, 54, 42, 51 respectively have been invited to the assessment. How do we know? remember what is said in the notice «A maximum of 3 times the number of successful candidates sought for each language will be invited to this phase».
About the assessment: Now, right after the summer break, the Assessment Centre will be rolling full steam, but be careful!!! You will face 2 different computer test , one the classic CBT (verbal, numerical, abstract reasoning) then you need to take the Proofreading and correcting test. So as there are two test, there are two booking dates ; for the CBT you have to book between 09-13 September and take the exam 17-18 October (at home or in a Prometric/EPSO facility) ; for the Proofreading and correcting test you have to book between 29 September-5 October and take the exam 31 October – 4 November (only in a Prometric/EPSO facility), Don’t forget to read carefully all the indications from EPSO and when doing the bookings (believe it or not, they contain a lot information).
The tests you will sit besides the ones mentioned above are the General competency-based interview (which will take about 2 weeks for all the candidates to complete), as well as the Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) (another 2 weeks). Check the starting dates, as each language begins in a different one between mid September -mid October and their interview part last 1 month.
How can I prepare the Proofreading and correcting test test?
Our recommendation would be to practice with the Reform of the European Ombudsman’s Statute, you can divide it in two parts (it’s longer than 450 words) and you have it in Spanish ; French ;Italian ; German . Another example available in the 24 official languages are the Factsheets of the European Parliament as they cover a wide list of subjects and allow you to practice with some legal & policy terms. This test just implies translation, so any document from the institutions officially translated to our language 2 can help us practice.
Of course, we can’t forget about the State of the Union 2021 (which you have in the 24 official languages), or any SOTEU speech from previous years (here for instance 2020 and 2018). Finally, the documents about the Political priorities of the Commission or other similar documents can also help you practice for the test and the official journal with all its texts published in the 24 official languages. Overall, they want to be sure you know how to do the following:
proofreading electronic manuscripts in terms of typography and inputting authors’ corrections,
preparing and checking proofs for publication in various formats and media,
preparing manuscripts in electronic format or on paper in terms of spelling, grammar and syntax, and checking texts for their coherence and uniformity,
checking compliance with stylistic conventions and rules, and the compliance of the texts with the Interinstitutional Style Guide adopted by all the European Union institutions,
checking the quality of work performed by outside contractors in the field,
preparing the Institution’s documents for publication and finalising texts in typographical terms,
checking texts translated into the language of the competition for consistency with the original language,
monitoring linguistic developments and changes and informing colleagues of them,
taking part in terminology work and in the quality control process for translations of documents,
various other types of language work, such as moderation of content of website pages.
Last but not least, check our next training sessions if you think we can help you with the assessment interviews and write an email to yasemoseuropeos@gmail.com if interested for a training of the CBT in English.
2.-Technicians and support workers- Technicians( AST3) EPSO/AST/150/21 In 3 fields: Field 1: Audiovisual and conference technicians; Field 2: Building technicians; Field 3: Laboratory technicians.
Status : Do you remember our analysis laboratory technicians and for Audiovisual and Building? Yes, at that time we used to write more in Spanish but the audience became more international and so did we. Ok, stop the chit-chat. We knew the number of applications (389 candidates for 92 spots in Audiovisual, 663 for 114 spots in building, 378 for 20 in Laboratory spots and 176 for 15 spots on laboratory support) but now we know that 265, 340 and 65 respectively (670 candidates in total) have been invited to the assessment that will take place from mid-September until mid-December i.e Winter is coming!!!!
AudiovisualBuildingLaboratory
About the assessment: With the case study already done (last 4 July), only two tests remain pending, but they account for 130 out of the total of 170 points. The Situational competency based interview will be 30 points and the booklet for the exam should be published, at least, a couple of weeks before the exams begin, stay alert! For the field-related interview, 100 points are at stake, so make sure you prepare well to guarantee a good performance. The key factor is the structure of your information, no need to be an expert to talk about any topic but you need an expert to know what matters and how to explain it clearly and to the point. Remember you can join our Telegram information channel too where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition. Of course, If you think we can help you with our training, you can register for the next ones.
It doesn’t matter which Assistant ICT profile you check, all are in the Talent Screener phase.
Status: Do you remember the analysis we did? The 4 different profiles collected a total of 1300 applications approximately (221-260-721-117 respectively) for a total of 205 spots (by profile 47-55-74-29). While the ratio of candidates to spots is favourable, this competition requires excellent technical skills. Also, the complexity of the applications is rather high, which means that EPSO will need more time to evaluate them. The Eligibility tests have finished and now the Talent Screener evaluation is ongoing, so expect news on your Assessment Centre by mid or end of Autumn, not earlier.
About the assessment: First, we’ll have the computer-based tests (CBT). We know, you thought you had escaped it… keep dreaming. Still, there is no need to get a high mark, only passing it is enough (like it is the case for CAST exams).
Easy one, just an overall of 20 points to pass it.
In addition to the CBT, you will have to pass the following tests: Case Study (40 points) and Situational Competence Based Interview(30 points). Between the two tests you can gather a total of 70 points, with the particularity that in total you need 35 out of 70 to pass, but no minimum marks per competence are required.
Anyway, although the more points we get in competences part the better, the key part is the field-related test where you will have to demonstrate your capacities in your field (not exactly your knowledge), and above all, your relevant experience for this position. To do so, you will have the Interview in the Field (also structured but with clear focus on your work experience), where up to 100 points are in stake with a minimum score of 60 points, the bar is high! Remember to visit this link when you are invited to the Assessment Centre. We can help you to prepare all the test or you can join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition.
4.-EPSO/AST/152/22 Linguistic Assistants ET– HR–IT–NL–PL–PT
So far, all the dates and web are the same for the 6 languages, so we felt lazy and uploaded only one screenshot 🙂
Status : Last but not least, the linguistic assistants is in the moment of organizing the CBT (verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) with two language comprehension test. In total, about 4137 candidates (for 76 final spots) will take this exam in the last week of August and the first one of September.
You need a high score in both language comprehension test!! 7 is not enough.
We need to excel in the part of the comprehension test, as only the files of the candidates who obtained the pass mark in the reasoning tests and one of the highest overall marks in the language comprehension tests will undergo the eligibility check. That is, the eligibility check will be performed in the descending order of candidates’ overall marks obtained in the language comprehension tests. The files will be checked until the number of candidates deemed eligible reaches three times the number of successful candidates sought for each language, i.e 36 for Estonian, 42 for Croatian, 30 for Italian, 42 for Dutch, 36 for Polish and 42 for Portuguese. A proportion in line with the old times of generalist AD5 competition.
So, this is how you can get up to 170 and get your name into the reserve list.
About the assessment: It will take some time to come, maybe you will hear of your invitation at the end of the year. If this is indeed the case, expect a single date for all profiles on the case study test and the finalisation of a text (check what we posted above for the proofreaders text, it may be of help). In addition, you will have to sit the General competency-based interview, where only 30 points are at stake and which will probably executed very quickly (over the span of few weeks). So be sure the day of the case study and the finalisation of a text is your best day here.
When will EPSO contact me?
All the situations under which EPSO will write you in your profile, not by email, although sometimes we may get a warning message.
Many of you ask about when EPSO will tell you that you have passed to the next phase, or have been invited to the Assessment Centre, or…. you read/heard rumors about the development of the competitions somewhere. Better to isolate yourself from that noise and focus on the real messages. EPSO commits itself (it’s in Annex II of the notice of competition) to communicate with you after the Talent Screeners have been evaluated to inform you on the results and to invite you to the Assessment Centre. In the meantime, it can take weeks or months to receive any informationor being notified that we have passed to the next phase of the competition, so keep calm. If you are feeling desperate for the lack of news, you can always contact EPSO too, as candidates you are entitled to do so but be careful, replies can be a bit cryptic or copy/paste from the notice.
What can I expect of this job? How much will my salary be?
Table of the amounts of basic monthly salaries for each grade and step in function groups AD and AST referred to in Article 66 of the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022
Both are typical questions of the candidates, therefore we invite you to check Annex I and Annex II from the notice of competition. As you can see from the images above, go to Annex I of the notice to find all the details of your expected tasks to be performed once you are an administrator in the area of ICT (The Commission counts on you!!!). And last but not least, let us remind you an AD7 (step 2) will join the institutions with a net salary above 6.000 € and this can be higher depending if you have family dependent on you and other conditions.
Can you help me?
Let share some useful links for this competition and any other.
We don’t know if it was the sun over brussels during the first weeks of the Spring season that made the competition flourish or simply the willingness to end the traffic jam of competitions caused by the pandemics, but in last weeks, the candidates of more than 10 different competitions have received excellent news and have been informed they made it to the Assessment phase. With all the changes that have taken place and the sudden rush, many of you are are asking about what will happen in your competitions, particularly: what are the next steps? How should I prepare my Assessment Centre? Then let’s try to answer to all of you with the latest information available. In this post, you will find the information for the following competitions (by reference number order, just scroll down until you find the ones that interest you):
Administrators in the field of external relations EPSO/AD/382/20 (AD5 and AD7)
AST and AST/SC competitionswill be in a different post.
Almost finalised Competitions
Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6
Administrators in the field of European Law EPSO/AD/381/20
Administrators in international cooperation and managing aid to non-EU countries EPSO/AD/380/19 – AD7 and AD7
How candidates see themselves when they get an invitation to the Assessment Centre.
WARNING – as we see too much drama around the competitions, we have made an extra effort to make all this a bit more palatable and funny. You can pass the competitions with a smile! (Still, note that the information is as accurate as EPSO competitions allow us to be).
Will the new competences change anything in my competition?
Business as usual, no changes here. The fact the old competences are defined in the notice of competition guarantee they will remain stable for your competitions, otherwise EPSO should amend it to introduce the new ones. Probably, they will wait until these competitions come to an end before introducing changes to the competences that will be evaluated. We expect to see the new competences in future competitions as Space & Defense, we’ll keep you posted.
What about my competition?
Let’s go competition by competition (from highest to lowest EPSO reference number). Please be aware that the following analysis is done based on the information published on the EPSO webpage and our experience as candidates (yes, we once were where you are now) and trainers.
This is how it looks the situation of the competition
Status: At the moment we are writing this, a total of 205 candidates have made it to the Assessment Centre for 68 spots (if you want to see the precise data, check the table on the left), what leaves a proportion of one spot per three candidates, not bad at all! The case study has a date (5 of May), the rest of the assessment will take place between end of April and end of June. Remember that the on-line strategy for the Assessment Centre is to do each test at a different moment, not all the tests at once, but don’t forget to check your invitation to the Assessment Centre for the full detail (believe it or not, EPSO provides a lot of info in their communication to you – hint- click on the links!!!)
About the assessment: First, our old classic test – the Case Study (of competences) with 40 points. Then another classic among the classics, the Competency base interview (CBI) with another 40 points. Together they should add, minimum, 40 points (out of 80). On top of that, the Field test interview (it counts 100 points out of which you need 50 points. Of course, If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones. And yes, we also prepare the field-related interview, it’s all about the methodology 😉 Remember you can join our Telegram information channel too where we’ll alert you of any news regarding your competition and our trainings.
2.-Administrator in the field of Data protection EPSO/AD/393/21
That’s all the info we got. EPSO is publishing some dates step by step and updating
Status: At the moment we are writing this, 230 candidates passed the MCQ (multiple choice questionnaire) on data protection and (a quite fast evaluated) Talent Screener. As we write this, only the case study has indicative date (20 of May), the rest of the Assessment Centre tests are expected to take place from mid May until the end of June. Also, don’t forget the CBT Test, this competition has the particularity where there is no passing mark of CBT but its results (up to 40 points) is added to the total. Then a candidate can get up to 300 points (40 from CBT + 40 from MCQ on Data protection + 80 competences + 140 field related). Also, don’t forget to check your EPSO profile twice per week! We did our full analysis of this competition here that we suggest to read, specially because the marking system is a bit different from what we are used to.
About the assessment: Old classic test the Case Study (of competences), scheduled originally for May, now it seems to be for June and in May only the CBT. Complementarily we got the Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and on top of that the Field test interview that counts almost double than the competence test (so you know where you need to put your higher effort). All things considered, better to be a proven expert in Data protection to have a fair chance of passing this competition but don’t undervalue the points from the other test. Of course, If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions to prepare all assessment test or register for the next ones and don’t miss the opportunity of adding some points with the CBT (all points count!).
We have chosen the profile 1 for the photo (lazy day) but it’s the same dates for profile 2 and 3.
Status: Remember our analysis of this competition (profile 1, profile 2 and profile 3)? Well, not much has changed. In total, there has been 1454 applications (split in 710, 465 and 289 respectively on each profile). As for the spots available, there are 47, 30 and 30 respectively. So the wise EPSO decided to do the eligibility check first (CV screening) and then continue to the Talent Screener evaluation. Now, 125, 90 and 90 candidates for profile 1,2,3 respectively have been invited to the Assessment.
About the assessment: It’s becoming tendency to begin in specialist competition with the CBT. For this one in particular, candidates will have between 27 and 29 of April to take the test and obtain 10 points verbal and 10 points (minimum) from numerical and abstract test combined to pass (if you need some hints, we got our post about the CBT) . When the Assessment Centre comes, you will have to prepare the following: Case Study (scheduled for the 5 of May. The rest will come between May and June: Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and Field related interview in two different days. If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones.
Status: As you remember, the candidates applying for the Structural Reforms competition were far more than expected and the CBT was called upfront. Results were out at end of October and candidates waited for the results of the Talent Screener. Finally the results came ( more or less as expected) out and 140 candidates for structural reforms (with 45 places) and 75 (with 25 places) for Schengen acquis have been invited.
About the assessment: We got a mix of items for the end of Spring and beginning of Summer (June-July) , classic competence interviews : General competency-based interview (CBI), Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and then the Field test (interview and written test) despite the cuts in the assessment. For the moment, the written test in the field is confirmed as the first test on the 30th May. Get ready!!! If you think we can help you with our training (including the field related part, as many of our successful candidates can confirm), remember to check our next sessions (case study + written test on the 26th April) or join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.
5.-Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy EPSO/AD/390/21
With so many different dates, looks like the EPSO-assessment molecule
Status: It has been a long time since we did our analysis of this competition but it’s still valid. The eligibility checks were done and the Talent Screener evaluation results for 518 candidates were long expected. Finally 140 have been invited to the assessment.
About the assessment: This time, the calendar for this competition is full of particularities. First the CBT test will take place beginning of June (2nd and 3rd to be precise) but much earlier, will be the written test in the field, on the 26th April. Candidates will face the following tests: General competency-based interview (CBI); Situational competency-based interview (SCBI) and the Field-related ones (Interview and written test). Check our next training sessions if you think we can help you (we think we can).
6.-LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD 7) EPSO/AD/383/21 – Bulgarian (BG); EPSO/AD/384/21 – Czech (CS); EPSO/AD/385/21 – French (FR); EPSO/AD/386/21 – Irish (GA); EPSO/AD/387/21 – Hungarian (HU); EPSO/AD/388/21 – Polish (PL)
This is valid for French, Czech, Bulgarian and Hungarian profiles
Status: The brave candidates of this competition faced the CBT last summer and then were called to to the Translation Test in December. After that test, those candidates with the highest marks (up to 4 times the number of spots) have been invited to the Assessment Centre, starting with the Summary test the 12th May. About the assessment: After a long wait, the Assessment Centre is here, as we foresaw. Remember it has a new configuration and the Situational competency-based interview is gone but the classics remain: General competency-based interview and the Oral presentation, where the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more in total. As for the the Field-related tests, there will be another Oral presentation and a summary in language 1 from the Language 3 without dictionary (that will be tough). Glad to help you to prepare all these test. Check our next training sessions if you are interested.
This is how the Assessment of external relation will look like.
Status: After a very long wait, candidates received their results of the elegibility checks in April. But no further information was provided. EPSO is currently running the Talent Screener checks and we expect to know who will pass to the Assessment Center soon. Considering this, we don’t expect the Assessment Centre will take place before September 2022 (we indicate the year as the competition started in September 2020).Please, consider the evaluation of the Talent Screeners will take a couple of months (at least), so we bet its results will be published right before or right after the summer break (yes, not very concrete but this is EPSO, we mean c’est la vie!).
About the assessment: After all the struggle, could it be EPSO accelerates and releases the results of the talent so the approximately 258 candidates (AD5+AD7) invited to the assessment can receive their invitations before Easter? Fingers crossed. Meanwhile, Situational competency-based interview and the minimum mark per competence are gone, instead the Case study and the General competency-based interview remain and you will need to obtain 40 points or more in total in the competence part; For the Field related tests (Interview and written test) all remains the same, up to 50 points each.
Some of you having asking when to prepare the Assessment, our best advice, if you are not in any other competition that allows you to create synergies, wait until summer. Of course, stay tuned for our next training sessions if you think we can help you with them. Another way of staying tuned is to join our telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.
Almost finalised
1.-Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6
Status: So the Assessment Centre started in February 2022 then, during the Spring time, the candidates have been working hard to get it done despite the changes in the assessment distribution. The written test part was tough and long with two tests (and the agriculture part not exempt of controversy).
We thought about putting a screenshot from the competition but you know that one too well so we found our Agri-croqueta funnier and more encouraging.
What is left: As we speak, a bunch of the very last few candidates are taking their Assessment interviews. So now it’s a matter of patience (guess people in the area of agriculture cultivate plenty of it… sorry) and expect the results germinate but as late fruit, don’t wait for them until the summer break is over.
2.-Administrators in the field of European Law EPSO/AD/381/20
Status: It looks like yesterday when we shared our analysis and the sources to study EU law. Then, we spent the summer of 2021 struggling with the intermediate EU Law test (big applause for the 70 candidates who spent this summer with us and suffered our hard tests to prepare for this phase), and then came the long wait to get the results. Finally, as a snow storm in the middle of the hard winter, candidates got their invitation to the Assessment Centre and have spent the last 3 months working hard to prepare them.
EU law results are in the balance. Hope it will be swing in your favour!
What is left: After the modifications to the test in February, we missed the opportunity to see the role play in action but still theGeneral competency-based interview and a very interesting Oral Presentation were left. And last but not least, well it’s even more important, the Field Written test with its dose of controversy. We did our best to help more than 60 candidates (1 out of 5) in this final phase. And now we’ll be expecting the results as they do but better not to expect them before September. They take their time.
3.-Administrators in international cooperation and managing aid to non-EU countries EPSO/AD/380/19 – AD7and AD7
Evidence of the last try to publish the results. We don’t post all the previous attempts or this will look like an never ending soap-opera.
Status: Your are right, this competition opened in December 2019 and we have been reporting about it since then. However, as international cooperation projects experts know, nobody said it would be easy or short. The COVID crisis made things quite difficult and this competition got stuck for many months. Then the Assessment Centre was organised on a test by test basis, instead of taking all the Assessment Centre tests in the same day, which took a big part of 2021. But the «best» came at the end: the Case study and the Field written test, put the candidates in a very difficult situation as the interface/platform of the exam didn’t work as expected (or at all) and many candidates have to repeat the exam that finally took place by November 2021. What is left: Patience and resignation. Counting the days to see if EPSO releases the results by April (8 days left as we write this post) or a new date will be set on the web, after all, the dates on the web are indicative, only those received through official EPSO communication in your profile are valid and «cast on stone?»… better say «official».
Last Tuesday (1st February), the afternoon coffee ended on our trousers rather in our stomach, as EPSO announced changes. Which ones?Easy, as they acknowledge the long long backlog of some competitions (see the list below) they have decided to cut a big chunk of the Assessment test to make the process faster without harming your chances or passing it. Is that true?Will my chances remain the same? In principle yes, as the core of the evaluations (competences) remains, this time assessed through one single test rather than two tests, your chances should remain intact. Then what’s different?The margin of error. Now, you need to perform well or excellent in each one of the tests, no margin to make mistakes or obtain a low mark in one competence. Also bear in mind a reference for the uploading of the scanned documents (instead of bringing them in a USB) has been added.
If you are looking for the piece of news, here you have it.
Breath and keep reading, help is on its way (or at least more info).
Warning! as EPSO indicates, the information shared is intended for publication in the Official Journal (OJ) of the EU. It is made available in advance to information the candidates, but please make sure you check the text published in the DOUE to verify there are no differences (i.e we’ll check the final publication and update this post accordingly)
Can you be more specific about the changes? Sure! In this post, you will find the information for all the competitions affected by the change (by reference number order, just scroll down until you find the ones that interest you) and what is the new and how to tackle it. Also we have made an extra effort to make all this a bit more palatable and funny. You can pass the competitions with a smile!
AD-Administrators competitions
Administrators in policymaking and law-making in the field of health, food safety, auditing inspection and evaluation EPSO/AD/392/21
Member States’ Structural Reforms and Experts in the Schengen acquis EPSO/AD/391/21
Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy EPSO/AD/390/21
Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6
Let’s go competition by competition (from highest to lowest EPSO reference number). Please be aware that the following analysis is done based on the information published on the EPSO webpage and our experience as candidates (yes, we once were where you are now) and trainers.
Situation : Remember our analysis of this competition (profile 1, profile 2 and profile 3)? Well, not much has changed. In total, there has been 1454 applications (split in 710, 465 and 289 respectively on each profile), after the initial eligibility check, the numbers of those who passed to the Talent were 240, 245 and 190 respectively for 47, 30 and 30 spots (then up to 141,90 and 90 can be invited to the Assessment). At this moment the Talent Screener evaluation is ongoing.
What to expect: This was one of the competitions less impacted by the changes. When the Assessment Centre comes, probably March or April, you will have to prepare the following: Case Study (of competences) and the Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) and Field test interview. The Written test in the field is gone and its points transferred to the Field test interview (now it counts 100 points). If you think we can help you with our trainings, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones.
Situation: As you remember, the candidates applying for the Structural Reforms competition were far more than expected and the CBT was called upfront. Results were out at end of October and (again) candidates must be patient and wait for the results of the Talent Screener. After that, for those of you with the highest marks, around 135 for structural reforms and 75 for Schengen acquis will be invited to the Assessment Centre (Spring of 2022 most likely).
What to expect:When the Assessment Centre comes, you can forget about the Case Study . The General competency-based interview and Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) both remain and split the competences to evaluate them in one single round and the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more in total. What remains the same is the Field test (interview and written test). If you think we can help you with our training, remember to check our next sessions or join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.
3.-Administrators in the field of Chemicals Policy EPSO/AD/390/21
This assessment is still about mixing the right elements to pass it.
Situation: It has been a long time since we did our analysis of this competition but it’s still valid. The eligibility checks were done and the Talent Screener evaluation results for 518 lucky candidates are …….expected in any of 2022. EPSO announced the delay of the Talent screener results without a clear hint of when the publication of the results, so the 135 candidates to be invited to the Assessment Centre will have to wait
What to expect: When the Assessment Centre comes, you can forget about the Case Study . The General competency-based interview and Situational Competency base interview (SCBI) both remain and split the competences to evaluate them in one single round. The minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more in total. What remains the same is the Field test (interview and written test). If you think we can help you with our training, remember to check our next sessions or join our Telegram information channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.
Here you have announcement of the delay
4.-Administrators in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development EPSO/AD/389/21 – AD6
In this one, the case study has growth strong roots
Situation : So the CBT was done in summer but results took time to settle on the earth and germinate (bad joke). Then, the new year brought the results of the Talent Screener and 175 brave candidates were invited to the Assessment…and its first test will take place 8 of March
What to expect: The Assessment Centre is coming in Spring just as we predicted and the winter is there to prepare ourselves. In this competition, Situational competency-based interview is gone with the wind, but Case study and General competency-based interviews remain, which are the two big classic test are ready to evaluate our competences. Besides, to assess your knowledge in the Field, you will face the interview and the written test in the filed. For all this test, we’ll offer further trainings , stay tuned on our next sessions .
5.-LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD 7) EPSO/AD/383/21 – Bulgarian (BG); EPSO/AD/384/21 – Czech (CS); EPSO/AD/385/21 – French (FR); EPSO/AD/386/21 – Irish (GA); EPSO/AD/387/21 – Hungarian (HU); EPSO/AD/388/21 – Polish (PL)
Some changes but not too many… perhaps
Situation : The brave candidates of this competition faced the CBT in summer, then in Autumn, almost winter, were called to to the Translation Test (up to 8 times the number of available spots). After its evaluation, those with the highest marks (4 times the number of spots) will be invited to the Assessment Centre.
What to expect: The correction of this kind of test takes time, we don’t expect further news until end February or later, and the Assessment Centre for Spring. For that, the Situational competency-based interview is gone and the classics remain: General competency-based interview and the Oral presentation, where the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more in total. As for the the Field related tests, there will be another Oral presentation and a summary in language 1 from the Language 3 without dictionary (that will be tough). Don’t forget to stay tuned for what will come next by joining our telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.
Situation: After a very long wait, candidates received their results by the end of September. But no further information was provided. EPSO is currently running the eligibility checks (yes, since September) and we expect to know who has passed to the Talent Screener evaluation phase one day.
What to expect: After all the struggle, could it be EPSO accelerates and releases the results of the talent so the approximately 258 candidates ( AD5+AD7) invited to the assessment can receive their invitations before Easter? Fingers crossed. Meanwhile, Situational competency-based interview and the minimum mark per competence are gone, instead the Case study and the General competency-based interview remain and you will need to obtain 40 points or more in total in the competence part; For the Field related tests (Interview and written test) all remains the same, up to 50 points each. Don’t miss the opportunity! Of course, stay tuned for our next training sessions if you think we can help you with them. Another way of staying tuned is to join our telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.
7.-Administrators in the field of European Law EPSO/AD/381/20
Pity, you won’t longer be able to play the role of the European Perry Mason in the EU court while in the assessment.
Situation: It looks like yesterday when we shared our analysis and the sources to study EU law. Then, we spent summer struggling with the intermediate EU Law test (big applause for the 70 candidates who spent this summer with us and suffered our hard tests to prepare for this phase), and then came the long wait to get the results. Good news!!! The results were published mid November and candidates got their invitation to the Assessment Centre at the begining of this year, but only two test were set, the role play remained uncertain.
EU law results are in the balance. Hope it will be swing in your favour!
What to expect : Now, forget about the role plays, they are gone, the Oral presentation and General competency-based interview remain at the same time that the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 40 points or more. What is even more important, the Field Written test is still marked up to 100 points and set for the 11 of February. Get ready!! In case you have skipped the previous clarifications, let us say that If you think we can help you with our training, you can check or register for the next ones or join our Telegram channel where we’ll alert you when more are available.
Please, don’t proofread this article, enjoy the sunny day outside.
Do you recognize yourself?
Situation: It has been a while since candidates were informed that this competition was moving towards the Talent Screener evaluation. Results should be soon published.
What to expect: Sooner than later the results of the Talent Screener should be published and the invitation to the Assessment Centre should arrive for 135 candidates. Stay alert and ready! Regarding the test, Case study is gone for good and you will face the General competency-based interview and the Situational competency-based interview where the minimum mark per competence disappears, you only need to obtain 35 (over 70) points to pass but better if you get more. Above them, the Field related tests (Proofreading and correcting a text) will set the real threshold. Check our next training sessions if you think we can help you (we think we can).
Situation: After a long summer struggling with the Word test, (Word-MS Office skills to be EPSO-precise) and a long waiting until some candidates left behind could take their exam (their Prometric centre was not available), the results were published , without further notice until the eligibility checks were performed
What to expect: end of winter should be the right time to get the invitation for the Assessment Centre, remember that if you pass the Word test and have a CV that matches the profile of this competition, your chances of being invited to the Assessment Centre are quite high (the number of candidates who took the Word test was relatively low, nearly 2 times those who will be invited to the Assessment Centre). Then, when the Assessment Centre comes, you will face only ONE role play test (yes, a new type of test but not such a big deal ;-)) and the Field-related interview, which, in addition to your knowledge of the field, this time will also assess some other competences (Resilience, Communication, Analysis and Problem Solving) at the same time. The positive thing about this Assessment Centre is still that you can focus all your strengths on the preparation on only two types of tests. Of course, if you think we can help you with our training, you can check our next sessions or register for the next ones or join our Telegram channel where we’ll alert you when the moment comes.
When should I start to prepare the Assessment Centre?
We found the way to the way to the Assessment!!!
This a recurring question and very relevant to prepare successfully for the Assessment Centre. Our answer is based on our experience and the experience of our successful candidates. We would advise you to begin the preparation for the Assessment Centre the moment you get an invitation for it. Assessment Centres (or at least the EPSO ones) are based on (or aim to measure your) competences and your expertise on a certain domain, they don’t require you to show knowledge, you will rather have to present to the board all that you can offer to the European institutions. To do so, you need practice above all.
What if I start to prepare as soon as I get a message saying that my competition is in the Talent Screener phase? Well, of course you can do it. However, you need to consider several elements :
It can take months until the Talent Screener evaluations are over . EPSO doesn’t have a standard duration so you study without a clear horizon and you may run of stamina before the process really begins.
There are more candidates thanspots in the Assessment Centre. Depending on the competition, the proportion of candidates who make it to the Talent Screener evaluation phase varies from 8 up to 12 times the number of openings. So it’s not easy. You can end up studying without being selected afterward. Is this a waste of time? NO! It can be reused in other EPSO competitions and other selection processes but it could also trigger some lose of hope in our chances to work in the EU. Lack of motivation is probably your worse enemy in this process.
Waiting time can be used to set up an action plan when you get the invitation for AssessmentCentre. Because the moment you get the invitation, you have to run! Time and energy must be devoted to this goal. And don’t mind if EPSO is ruining your holidays because you have to prepare for the Assessment Centre. It is for your own good! (it happened to us too!)
If you missed them- all of our 2021 posts in one list (from older to more recent)
we know, 2021 is already gone but it’s always good to have some perspective about it and its competitions
Ya semos europeos 